Walk With Darrell

How to Have a Relationship with Christ What is the way for us to have a relationship with God? Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me”. John 14:6 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. “For unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins” John 8:24 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will

We all have a few scars in our lives. I am talking about more than the scar I have from my knee replacement. There are scars of broken relationships, lost loved ones, rejection from others, failures we have had. I could go on, but you get the drift. Healing doesn’t come easy. Sometimes our wounds have been there so long that it has become infected, and it affects other relationships in our lives. Sometimes the best way to heal a wound is to realize they exist and tell God abo

Spending time in prayer and reading God’s Word is an important part of daily Christian life. Just like in any relationship you have to keep it nurtured. We can get so busy with work, sports, school, and just living life we forget about our relationship with God. If you miss that regular time of talking with God, then that relationship can get cold and stale. One day can turn into two days, then before you know it, a week has gone by. You miss two weeks then it doesn’t become

I have had an opportunity to be in a few studies at church that were created by James McDonald. One of these studies was on the “Attributes of God”. One of my favorite attributes that we studied was on God’s Sovereignty. A lot of people are not real sure what God’s Sovereignty really means. In Darrell’s layman definition. God has sovereign authority and influence over every event that happens in our world according to His purpose. I take it a step further God has sovereign a

Don’t you just love nature? When Terri and I were in Yellowstone National Park we ate our lunch by a stream called Nez Perce. The stream was so clear and made swirling noise as it went through areas of rocks and wound itself through the forest. and I could hear the birds chirping, wind rustling through the trees and occasionally the sound of a bull elk off in the distance bugling. Terri and I commented how being in God’s nature speaks to us as to how appreciative we are of th

I have been doing a lot of camping lately and one of things I enjoy is a campfire. Towards the end of the evening it is time to separate the remaining coals. The coals burn for a while then they start to lose their flame and if you wait long enough the coals will go out. Our Christian life is similar if we don’t keep the fire going the flame can go out. So, what makes the fire go out in the Christian life? Not spending time with God. If we only speak to God every now and th

Do you feel close to God, or does He feel distant? At times it can feel like we are not very close to God. Oh, we know God is real, we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, but the intimacy is not always there.  This can happen to all of us if we don’t keep our relationship nurtured.   We live in a culture that promotes self-independence. I personally have been in that same mindset that I am self-independent. However, we can carry that to a point that at times we can thin

I had the opportunity to visit Hong Kong back in 1981 when I was in the US Navy assigned to the USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63). British Hong Kong was a colony and dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997. I had one of the last duties prior to pulling out. I was assigned to assist the Shore Patrol in checking ID’s and contraband on the sailors coming back from their last liberty before we pulled out of Hong Kong and headed to Subic Bay in the Philippines. You might

Does it ever feel that the storms you’re going through are never going to end? Our perspective is much different than God’s perspective. We see our storms and trials and think that they are never going to change. God understands they are here for a season. God’s favor lasts a lifetime; our weeping may last a night; but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5 (NIV) 5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejo

Do you ever have those days when life has thrown the kitchen sink at you and problems can seem downright fearful? I think if we were all honest, we probably have all had our share of those day in our lives. Life’s uncertainties can be scary. Today might even be one of those days. It is easy to think that you are all alone when your back is against the wall. Sometimes there is a fear and dread that can paralyze you. If you ever get in the situation, remember that you are not

In the Old Testament there were only certain individuals who had the privilege of being in the presence of God. There were some who even perished if they came into God’s presence unauthorized. God is holy and always has been holy. He hates sin. Moses had the privilege of talking with God and hearing God talk to him. Jesus talked with God daily. The bible says, Jesus rose early to go speak to God the Father in prayer. Because of our faith in Jesus, we can enter directly into G

Do we fear the Lord? Fear has a few meanings, often fear is used as in being frightened. That is not what I am talking about today. To “fear the Lord” in the bible means, having a deep respect, reverence and awe for God’s power and authority. In the Old Testament David often found himself in situations where his life was in danger, and he put his trust in the Lord to deliver him from his enemies. David feared the Lord and knew the Lord would deliver him from danger. This hap

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Life is a delicate balancing act, of walking a fine line of being over-committed with so many things that seem important. It is easy to fall prey to pride when you end up trying to do too much. It is also easy t

As believers, we are not exempt from having to deal with bitterness. If we don’t deal with bitterness in our lives, it can become a poison that erodes our optimism, shatter our joy, and kills our ability to love others. A bitter person goes through life with a heart that doesn’t function fully. It can spill out into our relationships, which leads to regret, pain, grief, hatred, spite, and spiritual poverty. God doesn’t intend for us to live with bitterness. When bitterness a

My boys hardly ever called me at work to chat; however, occasionally I would get a phone call at work from one of my sons. On the other end of the line I would hear, “dad, do you have a minute?” I knew that one of my sons needed to talk with dad. Many times, it was to bounce something that was on their mind off dad to see what I thought. This is just part of being a dad. Sometimes it just helps to talk to dad. I occasionally still get a phone call. It is not only good to t

I’ am blessed with a Christian wife who loves the Lord. We are working on 46 years of marriage this next December. That is a lot to some of you and then a drop in the bucket to others. As I go through the bible there are many verses on describing characters of a wife, One of my favorite chapters in Proverbs. Listen to how the writer describes the attributes of a good wife. Proverbs 31:10-12 10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 11 Her

The Sea of Galilee was in a wild storm that threatened to overturn boats. The experienced fisherman who had become Jesus disciples were frightened. Everyone in the boat feared for their lives except for one. Jesus was asleep in the boat. How many times do we go through storms in our life, and we are frightened? We might even be wondering when Jesus is going to wake up. At these times our faith is being tested. Well, Jesus woke up and calmed the storms. Mark 4:39 (NIV) 39 He g

How will our faith be tested this week? If you are in a test of faith right now, rejoice – the Lord has His hand on you! This test is not going to destroy you! You are either going to grow, get stronger and increase in the anointing, or the Lord will provide a way of safe escape. Our faith is being tested by God and it probably going to happen soon. Some of my tests I have failed, but no worry, God allowed me to retake my test. God has a purpose in testing our faith and James

Terri and I married while we were in the Navy. So, as sailors we did not have a lot of money for expensive gifts. On our first wedding anniversary I bought Terri some small gifts. One gift I bought for Terri she still has and uses to this day. It is a key chain with a heart on it and a saying that reads, “A Child of The King”. It is special that we are going on over 44 years of marriage, and she still holds that key chain as a special gift. The words are special, and she hold

Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. We take so many things for granted in life. If we would just sit back and look at what all God is doing for us this week, you would probably be amaze at everything that God provides. God showers us with blessings all week. Looking at friends posts on Facebook; we see many blessings God has provided. We have friends celebrat